Sometimes, the sheer size of a company like Microsoft can make it quite hard to see and realise just how large and profitable such a company can really be. In these kinds of situations, there's nothing like a clear graph to make all those pretty numbers tangible. Up to a point.

I think you are so used to clueless customers that you don't see the people that manage to do quite a bit on Windows with limited interest they have in tech, but also without needing professional support.

I see plenty of those too. They do very well for themselves, and I should have worded my post to say "geeks, power users and prosumers". Windows does work for these people, those that are interested enough to make it work, but that’s not the majority unfortunately.

First of all the Ipad is not a primary device. It cannot update itself, you need Itunes for that.

This is the single biggest flaw with the iPad (that it cannot easily be your one and only computer). I think that if it gets popular enough, Apple will realise that the iPad needs to operate independently. Also I hope there will be good competition in this area in the form of ChromeOS / Android and others.

If the iPad / ChromeOS become popular enough the printer manufacturers will be forced into doing things in a standard way. Google are trying to force this with ChromeOS by asking manufacturers to supply a standard protocol and CUPS drivers and no more of that .MSI crap.

Apple badly need the competition to get them to open up the device and let it function with anybody’s equipment and no more "Made for iPad" restrictions.